Timeline (SYOC)
by FantasyFeast
Summary: (SYOC OPEN) A multichapter series of oneshots of little moments in Camp Half Blood. Open worldbuilding. Insert your characters, input a scenario, and be a part of the demigod community. Blog is up!
1. Introduction

**Hi friends, and welcome to my SYOC. One of the more unorthodox SYOCs on this site...and you will soon see why. Here's an excerpt, followed by more information on how this will turn up. It could be an utter failure for all I know, but I wouldn't know unless I tried, right? So here goes nothing.**

* * *

The following chapters are oneshots, featuring events or moments that take place ever since Shawn was brought to Camp Half Blood at the age of 15. These moments may seem insignificant, and perhaps some are a little over-the-top, but nevertheless, they are bits which played a part in the growing of his character. Over the course of the years at Camp, he has felt joy, happiness, and thrills, and yet there have also been countless times of heartbreak, betrayal, and anger.

Throughout his journey, Shawn has experienced the start of budding friendships, met bullies, had rivals and has been thrown into countless scenarios, some for better and some for worse. And these memories are compounded into oneshots and recorded in this story.

* * *

 **So this is not going to be your typical SYOC, because the characters you submit and the scenario you give are going to shape their relationship with Shawn. Please note it is a oneshot, so your characters will only be used once, unless somewhere down the road I agree to use handpicked characters again for another chapter in a different scenario.**

 **Basically, this is how it works. You submit your character through a form which can be found on my profile, and give me a situation where you like to see both your OC and Shawn in, and I'll do my best to write a oneshot on it. Please note, the simpler the scenario (plotwise), the more room there will be for character development, though I would like it if you were a bit more specific in giving an idea for the scenario.**

 **Also, because I can foresee many of the submissions are going to have their relationship as 'friends', I would be more willing to write other more unique ones, such as 'bullies', 'rivals', and even 'crushes'. Feel free to throw in anything here, however outrageous it may be. I will go out of my way to fit them in, especially if they have not been done before.**

 **So I understand you need a glimpse of Shawn's personality for this to work, and since it is just the beginning, I'm taking a little risk here because it's so vague. But Shawn's personality and character is going to be loosely based on the real life singer Shawn Mendes. To some people you might be thinking 'who's that dude?' and that's okay… his character will be clearer as the story progresses. For those who know him, then *nod of respect* good for ya :D**

 **Check out the blog here for more info! If your character's oneshot is chosen, he/she will be added in the blog too. https: (double forward slash)** timelinesyoc . weebly . com (delete the spaces)

 **OC Submission Form**

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Gender:**

 **Godly Parent: (Greeks only please)**

 **Faceclaim: (For the blog)**

 **Appearance: (Include clothes)**

 **Personality:**

 **Scenario: (Please be specific in what you want to see. Could be a prank, a walk in the grounds, sparring challenge, a date, bullying, having dinner, start of a friendship, etc… You are welcome to go wild on this.)**

 **Relationship to Shawn: (Friend, acquaintance, stranger, bully, crush, girlfriend, rival, etc…)**

 **Thoughts on Shawn:**

 **Others: (If you want to see a sparring match, you've got to include your character's fighting style, weapon, etc…)**


	2. Insecurities

**Thanks to all the wonderful submissions I've received! I've got to say that while there have been some good ideas, I've also received plenty of repetitive scenarios or relationship. And hence, I will be selecting new and unique ideas. I will personally reply your PM if your OC is queued to be written in the next chapter.**

 **Putting everything else aside, lets welcome our first camper into this new world :) She's been updated into the blog!**

* * *

 **Jade Avraham, 16, daughter of Ares**

 _Slash._ Her long dagger cut deep into the dummy, leaving a visible white line across its torso. _Thrust._ The sharpened tip of her second dagger left a dent where the heart would be, before rebounding off the hard material. _Guard._ She returned to her guard position, clutching her twin dagger in each hand, crossed over her chest in a defensive stance.

The petite girl repeated the steps over and over, slash, thrust, guard, not allowing her strength to falter, and continuing each attack with quick, agile movements even as her arms started to feel sore. With every scratch she left on the practice dummy, she imagined it as one of those judgmental campers who told her she was nothing more than a pretty face. Even before she had been claimed as a child of Ares when she had been brought to camp years ago, the others had assumed she would be Aphrodite's kid, just because she'd inherited her looks from her, unexpectedly pretty refugee mother. And quite honestly, she hated that they looked down on her battle skills and underestimated her abilities. Her goal soon became to prove them all wrong. Over the years, those campers who had seen her fight had learnt their lesson of belittling her, and some had even apologized for the less than polite things they had said to her before.

Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, and Jade wasn't sure how long she had spent in the training arena. Her fitted white tank top had soaked through, and she felt warmth radiating through her cargo pants. Strands of her dark brown hair had come loose of her trademark fishtail braid, though she hadn't bothered to redo her hair.

Stepping back, she turned away from the dummy, breathing hard. Jade thought after this she would head back to her cabin for a wash up before heading to the mess hall for a late lunch. She walked a few paces, before whipping around and doing a complete 180 turn, aiming her dagger and throwing it under a second. Her aim rang true, and the dagger embedded itself right in the chest of the practice dummy. Jade allowed a satisfied smile to form on her features, as she crossed the room to yank out her dagger, before sheathing them in her belt.

Hearing heavy footsteps of boots on the concrete floor, she looked up and spotted a fellow camper striding into the practice arena. The guy was dressed in a grey T-shirt and black jeans, and Jade recognized him as that peculiar Apollo child who favored twin, single edged knives instead of the standard bow and arrows that children of Apollo always used. She didn't know much about him, apart from being called Shawn Cornfeld, and that he was couple years older than herself. He didn't really talk much, unless he was around his buddies, but he definitely wasn't one of those kids who judged others. So maybe, she thought, she may as well find out why he was lingering around here when it was so close to lunch time.

But just as she was about to ask him, he spoke, gesturing at the practice dummy as he looked at her, "hey… Jade, right? If you're done with practicing, may I…?"

"Sure," she nodded. "All yours."

"Thanks." He smiled at her reply, before adding casually, "been practicing?"

 _What else could she have been doing?_

"Oh _nooo…_ " She said sarcastically, "I was brushing my hair and trying to look pretty."

"Yeah, totally. That explains why your hair is a mess right now."

She rolled her eyes, and watched as he drew his twin knives, and twirled them in his grip to get a feel of their weight and balance.

"Alright, Cornfeld, I was practicing." She said, giving him her best annoyed glare as though daring him to challenge her words, "needed to let off some steam."

He raised both arms in mock surrender at her sudden outburst, "whoa, no need for that, I mean I know you were practicing. Me too, though. Wanted to take my mind off for a while."

Momentarily, Jade caught his eyes drooping to the ground, before glancing back up at her. It made her wonder if something had happened to him before this.

Taking up a softer approach, she asked, "you look...upset. Mind if I asked what's going on in your head?"

He didn't meet her eyes, "it isn't much, really. It just kind of ticks me off when the others tell me archery will suit me better than using knives."

It clicked in her head. And she understood where he was coming from. Jade had heard other campers talk about this subject specifically. Shawn was a child of Apollo, whose children were flawless when it came to battling with the use of the bow. But Shawn had always preferred his own two knives to any other weapon, and the other kids always laughed at him for it. She'd never really tested his skill at the knives, but that didn't matter, did it? Why was it anybody's business if he decided that knives were his favorite weapon? Recognizing that they had something in common - straying from stereotypes, she found herself relating better to him.

"They assume you should use the bow just because you're Apollo's kid?"

"Pretty much, yeah. It's a stupid way of thinking."

"I agree." Then, before she could stop herself, she found herself spilling her frustration at him, "The others… they teased me about being Ares's kid, and how unlikely I was to be his daughter just because I have very feminine features and that I was too 'pretty to fight'. I hate how they look down at me like that. I mean, I swear if they ever challenged me to a fight, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

It sort of just rolled off her tongue without her meaning to say it. Because who would've told practically another stranger about her own insecurities? They'd just brush it off and say that she was bragging about looking attractive. But somehow, she felt comfortable to share them with Shawn, perhaps due to the similarities they share.

There was silence for a short moment, and Jade realized her voice had risen towards the end and that Shawn looked as though he was wondering what he should say.

"Well, that's mean of them." Shawn said after a while. "I haven't seen you fight but I'd be lying if I said you look harmless."

She sort of wished she hadn't blurted it all out to him, because it was the worst way she could introduce herself to another person.

"Sorry, forget what I said. I didn't mean to come off so fierce," she apologized, "Just kinda lost control for a moment."

He gave her an understanding smile, "it's fine." Then he added with a mischievous glint in his brown eyes, "your secret is safe with me. I promise." He put his right hand over his heart and tapped lightly.

"It better be." She warned, as she drew her dagger, pretending to observe it's sharp edge, "because I would hate to see this dagger buried in you."

His smile grew wider, though not in a unkind way. It was more of a playful sort of grin, though he understood the meaning behind her threat.

"Only if you can manage to bury it in me, Avraham."

Her face must have shown surprise, but she cocked an eyebrow at him, "is that a challenge, Shawn?"

"Maybe it is."

She liked the idea of a sparring challenge, because practicing against a thinking and feeling opponent was in many ways different from hacking at a practice dummy. She drew out her knives, glad that she had someone she could spar with. He didn't know her style, and nor did she know his, so this would be a very realistic match.

"Don't go easy on me." She whispered, getting into her ready stance as she watched him closely, waiting a moment for him to be ready.

He gave her the smallest of nods, and then without hesitation, she launched herself at him, digging the heels of her combat boots into the concrete floor. Jade went in for the attack, using a small frame and agility to her advantage, sending blow after blow at Shawn. His reaction was fast, and his knives met each of her dagger lashes at midpoint, and parrying her blows back forcefully. She danced around him, hoping to catch a hole in his defences, but he reacted by stepping backwards, so that she would have to come to him by the front. Once, he managed to land a shallow cut on her thigh, and hesitated a split second as a line of red oozed out from the torn fabric. In that moment of concern, he'd let his guard down and before Jade could pull back in time, her dagger had created a welt across his right wrist, drawing blood. It loosened his hold on the knife, such that when he blocked her next blow, the force of the clash sent his knife flying from his grip, and clattering to the ground where it skidded to a stop at the opposite wall.

Jade was the type of person who went all out when it came to sparring. She'd give it her all. That doesn't mean she fought fair. Because in a real fight against an enemy it was always about winning. The winner keeps his or her life. The loser...dies. That was what her fellow Ares brothers and sisters drilled in her since day one. And she'd always hidden any softer side of her, so that she could fit in. To never show mercy.

She could understand where they were coming from, but she too respected how others chose to fight fair. Be it nobility or justice, whatever it was, Jade respected them for choosing fairness over simply winning. And from what she just witnessed, Shawn fell into that category.

Shawn narrowed his eyes in concentration when she kept her blows coming. With his remaining knife in his non-dominant hand, this time he stepped in for the attack, crouching low and aiming for her legs. Sidestepping his attacks, she met his blow by by hooking his knife in the hilt of her dagger and twisting hard. It was a trick she'd learnt that was meant to disarm her opponent, and so far, it had always worked. So she was in for a surprise when he merely smirked at did a little twist of his own, sending her own knife to the ground, where he kicked it aside with his boots.

Shawn nodded in approval when he saw her stunt, "It's a good trick. Works almost every time… but there is a way to deflect it."

They continued the spar, now with one weapon each, until Jade decided to go for a more underhanded tactic which her fellow cabin mates had taught her. She reached out at grabbed at his injured wrist, gripping tightly so that pain flared up in the wound. It wasn't something she liked doing...especially not at her own fellow camper whom she was starting to call her friend. But sparring with him had taught her that others had tricks up their own sleeves to counter her skills, and by doing this, he too would learn that there are other ways to bring an opponent down in combat.

Shawn hissed in pain, and she tugged on his wrist as she sent a flying kick at his chest, sending him stumbling backwards as she let go. She followed up by leaping onto him, knocking him to the ground as she bent down, placing her boot lightly on his chest, and holding her dagger to his throat.

"My secret is safe, you say?" She smirked.

"Promise." He said seriously, but then looked down to her side, "but not because you've won."

Puzzled, she followed his gaze, and realized that his knife was pointed at her waist.

She looked back at him, who had a little smile on his face, "draw?" she said.

"Draw."

He lowered the knife and Jade sheathed her own, straightening up and helping him to his feet. They both went to pick up their other weapon which had been thrown aside during the spar. She now looked at him with a newfound respect, because compared to his Apollo brothers and sisters, he was pretty darn good with knives.

"Sorry about your wrist," she said sincerely, "my cabinmates have always taught me to exploit weaknesses in a fight so I -"

"I know. I've heard of that tactic." He cut in, "works all the time, right?"

She smiled, "actually it does." Then adding as an afterthought, "You know, the disarming trick with the dagger was supposed to work all the time too."

There was a twinkle in his eyes as they brightened, "oh, that. There are always ways to counter tricks, I can teach you that if you'd like."

"You would?"

"I wouldn't want to be murdered at night, would I?"

She laughed, "nope, I guess not."

* * *

 **Jade is a creation by _mellissa rose._**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**


	3. Backfire

**Here's to welcoming our next camper! Also, I just want to add that if I choose not to write your character, it is also likely because I just can't understand what you wrote in the form.**

 **But that's that. Here's an update :)**

* * *

 **Alexander "Alex" Walker, 16, son of Hermes**

As he lay on the cold forest ground with his limbs at an awkward angle, Alex regretted what he'd done. Not because she'd basically beaten him up and left him there as the pain sank in - he deserved that - but because upon considering his actions now, he realized that he had pushed too far.

It was originally intended to be a fun prank, purely to get a few laughs and to see her pretty face scrunch up in annoyance and watch as she got riled up a little. Though he knew close to nothing about Jade, Alex knew that she got worked up whenever someone commented on her fighting abilities and how she was 'nothing more than a pretty face'.

Of course now, laying disoriented on the ground, with brown leaves tangled in his dark curly hair, he would vouch that her fighting abilities were not one to be looked down upon.

Anyway, before all that, he'd noticed the daughter of Ares sitting by the edge of the lake, and staring into the distance. There was a small object clutched in her hand, though Alex didn't pay much attention to it because it was besides the matter of the prank. So he approached her, not making any effort to quieten his steps since he wanted his presence to be heard. His target for the day, Jade Avraham, was known to be a sharp girl, who is always aware of her surroundings. However, it seemed like today she was below her game. Only when Alex was a good two meters away from her did she turn her head to the side.

Her brows were furrowed in question as he stood beside her. And he feigned an expression of innocent curiosity as he leaned forward to look at something under the surface of the water.

Pointing with false interest an easily injecting a tone of excitement, he said, "did you see that?"

The girl didn't look very interested in whatever he was talking and replied dully, "see what?"

"That beautiful green rock!" He said, almost jumping up and down with impatience, "under the water. Look!"

Finally, she caught the hook, though with less enthusiasm that what he would have liked. Leaning forward over the edge of the water, she stared into its depths, trying to figure out exactly what rock was so intriguing.

"There!" He pointed deeper, so that both of them were craning over the edge of the water to look at a rock that didn't exist. "It's the pretty green one!"

For a split second, they were looking at their own reflections in the rippling water, and as he sensed comprehension dawning on her features, he shoved her with both hands, which was easy since she was already out of her center of balance, sending her tumbling face first into the murky lake.

He let out a snort of laughter, before clutching his sides because they ached from overuse as he watched her getting out of the lake, hair and clothes dripping wet and soaking. The war god's daughter waddled around in the knee deep waters, her hands waving around and eyes searching for something in the water. Her delicate feminine features scrunched up and cheeks pink from a rising hot temper. Alex knew it was almost time to make a run for it, but the prank needed a finishing touch.

Trying in between breaths to contain his laughter, he struggled to form a sentence, "I...your name...Jade... green rock….get it?"

She had stormed up from the lake, and was striding towards him, her face flushed with burning anger that even caught Alex by surprise. Sure, he'd expected some sort of reaction, but not this. Her eyes were wide, and contained a tinge of sadness.

"You asshole, Walker." She yelled, hurling her pain laced words at him, "You haven't even got a clue what you'd just done."

Alex took an instinctive step backwards, but his usually swift movements were too slow, and all he saw next was her fist, before a sharp pain flared up on his left eye. Hands flying up to shield his face, but too startled to actually defend against her wrath, he took another hit to his jaw, and then a punch to his stomach, knocking the air from his lungs.

All this while, Jade advanced on him, her small frame seemed to grow with each strike she took at him, and she swept her feet under his legs, sending him sprawling to the ground.

He crawled to his knees, but the aches on his body flared up, and caused him to fall to the ground again.

"Sorry...okay?" Alex said, mostly to prevent her from attacking him rather than apologizing for what he'd done. "Jeez, you pretty girls really can't take a joke."

Luckily for him, she had already marched away, so she didn't hear his last words, otherwise he would have been in a worse situation. Alex just lay there on the ground, feeling that uncomfortable root under his back, one hand covering his bruised eye. Even though it may sound unapologetic, he knew his prank had gone horribly wrong when she rained relentless hits on him. He didn't know what had caused her to snap like this, or what he'd said that hurt her, but he wanted to really make up for it. Problem was, Alex didn't know _how_.

All his life at camp when he pranked others, it had never ended up like this before. He recalled her expression as she left him there on the ground, and now he thought about it, her eyes had been... _wet_?

Oh boy, what on earth had he gotten himself into?

He inhaled sharply as he rolled onto his side, trying not to jolt around too much. What he really needed right now was to get himself fixed. It did feel like he'd broken something. Getting unsteadily to his feet, he clutched a tree for support before taking slow steps towards the main camp. Maybe he'd find an Apollo kid to patch him up because he knew he looked pretty bad.

Twice, he tapped the golden door of the Apollo cabin, before an older camper poked his head out to look at him.

"Hey Alex," the guy said with a welcoming smile, until he noticed the black eye he now sported, and a couple of other dark bruises on his jaw and arms. "What happened dude?"

Alex managed a small grin, though it faded when Shawn continued to look concerned for him.

"A girl punched me." He said mutely, "went a little different from what I'd expected."

Shawn opened the door wider to let him in. Looking around the empty cabin, he was relieved that the others had gone down for dinner, so they wouldn't have to listen to his humiliating story of exactly how he got beat up by a girl much smaller than him. He was closer to Shawn than the other Apollo kids since before being claimed, he and Shawn had a good few laughs in the Hermes cabin.

"Some prank again?" Shawn said as he reached under his bunk to get some nectar and ambrosia.

Both of them sat on the edge of the bunk, and he accepted a piece of ambrosia from the older boy, chewing on the stuff.

Over the years, he and Shawn sort of drifted apart since they didn't really share the same cabin, and their meetings were few in between practice and meals. But Shawn had this older brother vibe around him and suddenly, all Alex wanted to do was to tell him about what had happened.

"Yeah," he admitted, "but it didn't go well. She looked quite upset after I pushed her into the lake. But I don't know what exactly I said that hurt her. It was clearly a prank."

"Who was it?"

"Jade. Jade Avraham, you know? The pretty girl from Ares?" and he went on to explain what had happened down by the lake.

All this while, he could see Shawn's expression getting darker, and Alex almost felt like stopping his account but he pretended he hadn't noticed and just ploughed on with his story. Shawn didn't interrupt him, but let him talk until he finally finished what he wanted to say.

"...and she just started punching me all over, then storming off."

For a good minute there was an uncomfortable silence. And Alex considered leaving because the pain had already started to fade with the help of the ambrosia, but then Shawn said in a low voice, "you should apologize to her."

Alex wasn't expecting him to side with him and rule her out as a sore loser, but he wasn't expecting him to speak so seriously like this.

"I - Trust me, I wanted to….but I don't know how because she's so mad at me and it'll only make things worse."

Shawn sighed, then looked at him full in the face, "Look, Alex, I understand you just meant it to be a fun joke and honestly it would've been a good one… if you'd chosen a better time."

Not sure what to say, Alex just watched Shawn. Though Alex had been around Camp longer, Shawn was the older of both of them. And right now, Alex just wanted a bit of advice.

Shawn opened his mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it, and closed his mouth again. Then he finally said, throwing a glance at Alex, "Okay, promise you won't ever tell Jade I said this?"

He nodded, wondering what Shawn was going to say.

"Jade's pretty close to her mom, only they aren't able to keep in contact very often." Shawn said, watching Alex closely, "And I heard this afternoon she received a letter from her mom, and just wanted some space to herself by the lake."

 _Oh daaaamn_ , thought Alex. So he'd chosen the worst possible time to pull a prank on her. Then as it sank in, he gasped, "When I pushed her into the lake, she had something in her hand!"

"Her mom's letter, probably." Shawn shrugged.

"No! I mean, yeah! But…" Alex struggled to find the words, "it must have dropped into the lake when I pushed her in. Oh, I really am in trouble. She's gonna kill me."

"She is." Shawn said, through he added more seriously, "but you couldn't have known. So it isn't really your fault."

To Alex, it didn't matter whether it was his fault or not. He felt guilty for doing it anyway. That letter from her mother meant a lot to her.

"Doesn't matter. It is my fault. I just don't know how to apologise." It felt almost foreign, strange even, to hear himself. It showed a more vulnerable side to himself that he'd never do in front of his friends. And Shawn was more of an acquaintance, though surprisingly, he felt comfortable confiding in him.

"Just tell her you mean it. Tell her how you feel. She can be scary, but she'll understand, even if it takes her weeks before she forgives you."

"Thanks," Alex said, "for the advice."

A grin spread out on Shawn's face as he cocked his eyebrow at him, "don't mention it. But honestly, she is totally gonna kill you for that prank. Just so you know."

Punching the older boy in on the shoulder retaliation, he replied, "oh, that's very reassuring."

* * *

 **Alex is a creation of _go-for-santa_! Check out the updated blog :D**


	4. Heated

**Hello everyone! Here's an update which was really fun to write, but it took pretty long to get all of it out. Whew! I hope you guys enjoy it :)**

* * *

 **Sachi Tanaka, 19, daughter of Athena**

Stifling a yawn with the soft fabric of her over-sized sweater sleeve, the daughter of Athena blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and tried once again, to focus on the 6000 word report she had to finish by the end of the week. So there she was, sitting in a corner of the University library, crouched over her laptop - specially made not to attract monsters, and stacks of reference books piled beside her table, some of them so old that their pages were yellow and the cover with a sheen of dust. She sneezed, breaking the silence of the entirely empty library, such that the echo ringed in her ears. Not once, though, did the Asian looking girl look away from her report. Whenever her mind was focused on a subject she loved doing, nothing else in that moment mattered.

Which was exactly what happened until 2 am in the morning. There she was, ever so focused on her work, though admittedly her eyes felt dry and her back was starting to get sore from sitting in that same position for hours, when someone decided it would be a great idea to come along and disturb her peace. She'd heard some distant muffled yelling at first - a girl's voice, then it was joined by a softer, familiar tone of a guy. Then quite unexpectedly, a loud and sharp sound of a skin smacking skin. Looking up from her report, she stared at the door of the library as approaching footsteps were heard.

It was none other than Shawn Cornfeld, the student who was two years her senior majoring in music, whom she had _totally_ no feelings for, and _definitely_ didn't feel a slight bit happy when she realized he'd broke up with his ex-girlfriend a year ago. He was basically an idiot, really. They bump into each other every now and then when rushing for classes, and sometimes happened to sit together during lunch. It kind of started when she happened to find herself at the back row of his orchestra performance one evening, and there, in the middle of a rather complicated piece, he'd looked up at the crowd and their eyes locked for the tiniest of seconds. She wasn't even sure if he was looking at her, because it could be literally anybody in that general direction, but he had this stupid, idiotic grin that was so frickin' bright that it made her cheeks burn.

It was ridiculous how easily she blushed, especially because she didn't even know him personally. And it wasn't logical that a smile could have had such an effect on her. It wasn't like this was the first time she'd been on the receiving end of a casual smile so this reaction was completely uncalled for, in her opinion. After that, they did talk more, occasionally having lunch together, and eventually becoming pretty good friends.

Sachi was only brought back to present when Shawn, who was wearing his usual black jeans, T-shirt and an unbuttoned plaid shirt stumbled into the library. As she watched from the corner, she noticed his breathing was heavy and hands were deep in his jeans pocket. Eyes downcast, he slowly looked around the seemingly empty library, before doing a double-take when he spotted her behind her laptop.

Shawn didn't even meet her eyes, choosing instead to look back to the front, so she could only see him from the side, "what are you doing here?"

Tilting her head, she observed his unusual behavior. He usually gave the person he was talking to his full attention simply because it was the polite thing to do when conversing with someone.

"Finishing my report," she said simply.

"It's 2 a.m. in the morning, you shouldn't be working so late." He had his head turned about halfway in her direction, but still wasn't looking at her.

Shrugging, she replied, "I needed to finish this by the end of the week, and I'm only halfway through. So I thought I'd stay up a little to get this done."

His voice was monotone and a little edgy as he spoke, "I thought I'd told you a million times that this kind of pulling an all-nighter isn't healthy, Sachi. You know you shouldn't be doing this."

Maybe it was because she was indeed tired and feeling stressed from all her work that she started to get annoyed at him. She was ticked off by the fact that he was trying to act like a naggy old mother. As if she didn't know what was good for herself! And also, the fact that he wasn't even showing her basic respect of looking at her when he was talking brushed her the wrong way.

"Well, I, for one, know that you're not the boss of me, and I'm allowed to do whatever I want, Shawn." She crossed her arms over her chest, grey eyes flashing.

"But it takes a toll on your health!" Shawn said, raising his voice a notch, "Can't you just take a bit more care of yourself?"

She fumed, and felt the anger rise within her, slamming her laptop shut, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "And can't you look at me when you're talking to me? Do you know how you sound like?"

Usually, people could tell from her tone when she was frustrated. While others tend to yell when they are angry, Sachi found that ineffective. From her years of debate practice, out-voicing an opponent never worked. It only served to escalate the feud and gave both parties a sore throat. Logical reasoning is the only way to solve the problem, and by speaking softer, it naturally made her arguments seem more reasonable.

"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't get sick over an assignment like this. It's not worth it." Shawn said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, but refusing to face her directly.

"I won't get sick just because I stayed up late for a single night. Stop being so paranoid." She rolled her eyes, before continuing, "and don't you think arguing with your ex-girlfriend who broke up with you a year ago, at 2 a.m. in the morning is bad for your health too?"

She was referring to the commotion she'd vaguely heard earlier.

Shawn didn't say anything for a while, choosing to stare at a spot on the ground, shoulders drooping a little. Then he said quietly, "We've broken up. There's nothing between us now, okay?"

They'd never talked about this subject before. Sachi always strayed far from the topic of his ex-girlfriend because she was afraid she might give away her own feelings. Shawn never raised this issue because the wound still felt too raw. Though she knew nothing about how Shawn and his ex and fallen apart, Sachi noticed how he avoided his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend when they happened to be passing in the corridor. It made her think that he still had, possibly, slight feelings for the girl, even though she had let him go a long time ago.

"Nothing? Are you sure about that?" Sachi said, getting to her feet and stretching her arms a little. "Then why do I still catch you glancing her way occasionally at lunch if she means nothing to you?"

Shawn sighed, looking away, "I don't want to talk about it, Sachi."

Maybe it was all the pent up tension between them, and Sachi herself wishing he would reciprocate, but she found herself saying in a firm tone, "Look at me, Shawn."

"I said I don't want to talk about it now."

Folding her arms across her chest, she made to walk towards him, "you can either turn and look here, or I'm going to walk over to you."

She could almost see the gears in his head whirling around, considering his options. But before she could take another cautious step forward, he did something totally unexpected. To her surprise, he spun around sharply, so that his entire body faced her, forcing her to draw a sharp breath as she could see something she previously couldn't. Something they both now know he'd been hiding.

"I told you, there's nothing between me and her," He said, devoid of emotion, before striding back to the door of the library, pulling the glass door forcefully and exiting.

She didn't even attempt to follow him, because she was still reeling in shock from what she'd seen. Two parallel red lines, which looked too much like fingernail slashes, had made a cut on his left cheek, right down the cheekbone to the corner of his lips.

-Line break-

Ever since that less than friendly conversation in the library, Sachi hadn't seen Shawn around anywhere in campus. She started to think that he could be avoiding her too, but gradually put that off because if he had been doing so, she would have at least spotted him around. That would have been a very immature way to settle an argument since avoiding a situation was not going to improve it in any way. But she hadn't. Which led her to conclude that he may not have turned up for classes at all for the past week.

That was, until one evening about a week later when they happened to be passing from opposite sides of a walkway. Their eyes met, and they had a sort of non-verbal agreement to stop at the side of walkway, by a bunch of lockers.

"Hi." He said, offering a tentative smile, as if their meeting in the library had never happened.

"Hey," She waved, and launched on before her pride could kick in, "I haven't seen you around lately. If it's because of the other day, I'm sorry for pressing so hard on you. I was feeling quite stressed from all the assignments and everything, and it might have come across too strongly. So…"

Now that were standing close to each other, she could see the darkened bruised skin on his left cheek, almost completely faded, though there was still slight scarring. A little bubble of anger rose in her, because she knew he hadn't deserved this.

"No, I'm sorry." He said, eyes filled with earnest, "I shouldn't've raised my voice at you first."

"Shawn," she sighed, "I know it's not my place to say this, but I hope you can just listen to what I have to say, from a third person view."

"I'm listening."

And she spoke, keeping her voice controlled, neutral, and serious, so that he would understand that she was speaking from a place of concern, "I don't know what caused you two to break up, and you don't have to tell me. You may still have feelings for her, and I totally understand. But from what she's done to you, she clearly doesn't. I know it's more difficult said than done, but honestly, you need to let her go. She's got no right to do this to you. What she did, I hope you can see that it's wrong. Even in a relationship, no party has got the right to lay their hand forcefully on another."

Sachi hated having Athena as her mother, but she had to respect the fact that Athena, like her, was level headed especially when it came to sorting out emotions. It served as a positive and a negative thing, but right now, she was glad she had that talent too. Her father had drilled into her a sense of maturity and it was handy in times like this.

Shawn didn't look away from her as she spoke, and when she had finished, he waited a while longer before giving a single, subtle nod.

"I wasn't lying when I said that there's nothing between me and her, you know?" He said quietly, looking down at her, "Back then, I thought we shared something together, but I've realized that she wants something I can't give. And her...boyfriend could." His voice cracked but he continued, "So she dumped me. And honestly, she is better off with him. Like she said, he's way more muscular, more handsome…"

He grinned, as through passing it off as a joke, but Sachi could see right through the facade. His smile never reached his eyes, so she immediately knew that there was a ring of truth around what he said. But it didn't matter to her.

Cocking an eyebrow, she tapped her finger on his chest, just where his heart would be, "they say what matters is inside."

"I know. But that was over a year ago. It doesn't matter now. That's why I didn't want to talk about it."

Grinning up at him, she replied in a light voice, "well then, Shawny, you should spend more time with people who appreciate you the way you are."

This time he laughed, his smile so wide that it showed ever single one of his teeth. His trademark one that was far, far too bright. His eyes lit up as he put one hand to his back and extended the other like a gentleman offering a hand to the lady, bending down to a mock bow.

"Okay then, Missus, would you like to grab some dinner with me tonight?"

That idiot, she thought, rolling her eyes at his antiques. She giggled, totally unlike herself, but enjoying every moment, as she smacked him playfully on the shoulder before grabbing his hand.

"Oh please, people are staring," she said, blushing a little.

"Who cares, right? Because I don't."

Oh gods, that sass in his voice. Sachi grinned, tucking a choppy lock of brown hair behind her ear and matching his pace.

"Urgh, you're being so cheesy."

She didn't miss the pink tinge that crept up his cheeks, and laughed.

"So... is that a yes or a no for dinner?" Shawn raised his eyebrows.

"You're asking me out on a date?"

"That depends. I'll let you decide."

* * *

 **Sachi belongs to the author _Rainlight2427_ , and honestly, I had such a blast writing her. Definitely one of the more enjoyable ones to write so far.**

 **Just so you know, I'm still open to submissions, since I haven't been getting much of a variety. I've decided not to write repetitive or really similar submissions. So if you think you've got new unique scenarios, just send in your characters and there's a chance I'll write it.**

 **Thanks for the beautiful characters so far, please leave a review, and see you in the next chapter!**


End file.
